India received 6.19 million foreign tourists in 2022: GK Reddy

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India received 6.19 million foreign tourists in 2022 compared with 1.52 million in 2021, tourism minister G Kishan Reddy said.

“There were 10.93 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during the pre-pandemic year of 2019,” Reddy said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

Reddy said that the ministry under its schemes such as Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive , or PRASAD, provides financial assistance to state governments and union territories for the development of tourism-related infrastructure to enrich tourism experience for the visitors.

“The Ministry of Tourism has set up a 24×7 multi-lingual tourist info-helpline on the toll free number 1800111363 or on a short code 1363 in 12 languages including 10 international languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic), Hindi & English for domestic and foreign tourists to provide support service in term of information relating to travel in India and to offer appropriate guidance to tourists in distress while travelling in India,” Reddy said.

He also informed the House that while in 2021, the foreign exchange earning was ₹65,070 crore, in 2022, the earning was ₹1,34,543 crore. (MINT)